Today at Dell EMC World in Las Vegas, Nevada, VMware Inc. announced its integration of NSX network virtualization and security platform into containers with Pivotal Software Inc. Judging by reactions, remedial NSX schooling is needed, according to Pat Gelsinger (pictured), chief executive officer of VMware.

“What is that networking crap? I just want to get my ports, my containers connected to each other,” was the sentiment from developers, Gelsinger told host John Furrier (@furrier) and guest host Keith Townsend (@CTOAdvisor) of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio, during Dell EMC World. (* Disclosure below.)

Gelsinger’s pointed answer might surprise them: “It is the number one priority for us as a company,” he said, adding that NSX has recently hit the $1 billion run rate.

Just as the vSphere virtualization suite was VMware’s franchise product for years, NSX is poised to become its franchise product for the cloud era, Gelsinger said.

This is largely due to the network’s growing importance in bridging hybrid-cloud environments.

“We’re stretching [NSX] to cross data centers and across clouds. And with our Cross Cloud Architecture, we’re going to have it available across multiple clouds,” he said. It can also branch into the container environment and is key in the way VMware is working with software-defined Wide Area Network and Non-Volatile Memory Express, he added.

IoT claustrophobic in cloud

Could NSX be the highway for Internet of Things data to speed between data centers and endpoints? It might, and IoT is a good example of why a branched network for hybrid environments is crucial, according to Gelsinger.

“I believe some of the IoT intelligence moving to the edge will become a force that balances out some of this everything gets centralized in the cloud,” he stated.

VMware has inked a deal to bring its hybrid capabilities to Amazon AWS, rival of VMware’s new parent company Dell EMC, forming a testy tech triangle that should be interesting to watch in coming months.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of Dell EMC World 2017. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Dell EMC World. Neither Dell nor other sponsors have editorial influence on content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE